


Missing Money

by robron_til_the_end



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Conversations, Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 15:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8895790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robron_til_the_end/pseuds/robron_til_the_end
Summary: While looking through the Scrap yards accounts, Aaron notices five thousand pounds is missing. One shot which went it's own way!





	

Aaron sat in the portacabin and frowned, looking at the laptop screen. He didn’t understand this. There was five grand less in the scrap yard accounts than there should have been. It made no sense, they’d been doing well. Surprisingly well lately actually, there was no reason for that amount of money to just disappear. It didn’t clear them out, left them enough for overheads and wages, they could make it work, but… Was Adam in some kind of trouble? What reason would he have to take five grand out without mentioning it to his best mate? Criminal? What had he got involved in?

The door opened and Adam came in, trying to warm himself up. “Want a brew?” he asked. “I’m gasping.”

“Er, yeah, fine,” Aaron said, distracted. “You want to explain to me why there’s five grand missing from the business savings?”

“What?” Adam said. “Don’t know, mate. It’s nothing to do with me.”

Aaron didn’t believe him. If Adam had nothing to do with it, there was no way he’d be acting this casually about the fact that five grand had just wandered out of the door. “Come on, just tell me what you needed the money for.”

“Ask your husband,” Adam said, his voice more serious than usual. “I’m not the only one with access to that account."

“Robert wouldn’t take five grand from the business without telling me,” Aaron said firmly. “There’s no way,” he added into the silence.

“Just… talk to him,” Adam said. “It isn’t me, Aaron. Go home.”

Aaron didn’t like being told what to do, but he felt in this instance, Adam had a point.

* * *

 

“I’m warning you, if you start throwing paint at me, you will end up worse off,” Robert said to Liv, holding the roller. “Be a nightmare to get out of your hair, that would.”

“Cutting it off soon anyway,” Liv said with a shrug, though she did lower the paintbrush.

“Why do you want to cut it?”

“It’s heavy,” she said, pulling at her ponytail. “Annoying and gets in the way all the time.”

“You’re annoying and get in the way all the time,” Robert said. Liv snapped and threw a paintbrush at him, creating a off white splotch on his shirt.

“I warned you,” Robert said with laughter as he chased her around the empty room. Their joyous laughter reached Aaron, who opened the door, effectively stopping their play fight with just his attitude.

“Wow, what’s got you upset?” Liv asked, both of them easily able to tell Aaron was pissed off.

“I’m missing five grand,” Aaron said simply. 

“Ah,” Robert said while Liv looked between both men. “That.”

“Robert!” Aaron said, appalled.

“I should go,” Liv said, scrambling up from the floor.

“Before you kick off…”

“Let me get this straight, you’ve drained all our business savings without telling me?” Aaron asked. Robert got off the floor, feeling like this wasn’t an argument he wanted to be having lying on the floor covered in paint.

“Firstly it’s not _all_ of your savings,” Robert said. “Secondly, I’ve not stolen it if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Then what have you done?” Aaron asked bewildered.

“I’ve sold my share in the business,” Robert said. “Back to you and Adam. I’m no longer a partner, a shareholder, nothing.”

That threw Aaron, making him freeze. He had not expected that. “Okay…” Aaron said slowly. “Now… why would you do that?”

“Because it feels wrong,” Robert said. “When I gave you that money, I never expected to get a return on it. Let alone that I’d end up in business with my husband, and my brother-in-law. That wasn’t the plan.”

“Oh, so what was the plan?” Aaron asked, irritated. “At the time, I mean. Throw me ten grand so I’d keep fucking you?”

“It’s not like that, and you know it,” Robert said with exasperation.

“So, if you didn’t expect a return on it, why did you keep nagging me, saying I’d make a go of it? That it‘d be successful?” Aaron asked, more annoyed and rattled than he’d like to admit.

“You’re misreading me,” Robert said, trying to calm him down. Clearly on the way home from the scrap yard, Aaron had worked himself up into a state. “I never said you wouldn’t be successful, I just didn’t expect there to be much of a profit for me, as a third party. I’ve taken more than I put in already, and you know that’s true.” 

Aaron didn’t look happy. “Seriously,” he said. “Be honest with me. Why did you give me ten grand, more than two years ago?”

“Because I wanted to keep seeing you,” Robert said, putting his hands on Aaron‘s hips. “Come on, did you really think you’d end up marrying me?”

“No,” Aaron said. “Didn’t think I’d end up marrying anyone.”

“Aaron…” Robert said very softly, feeling sad for his husbands insecurities.

“Don’t,” Aaron interrupted.

“I gave you that money,” Robert started. “Because I wanted to get you out of my system. By that point, I knew I needed more than one night with you.” Aaron’s lips twitched into a smile at that, but he didn’t interrupt. “I figured that… after a few weeks of you, I’d get bored. Cut the ten grand as a loss and move on with my life. And let you move on with yours.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Aaron asked.

Robert smiled. He didn’t mind this, the fact that Aaron needed reassurance. Because the alternative of Aaron keeping it to himself, stewing on it for days and weeks was much worse. Robert would always rather he spoke to him about whatever it was that was bothering him.

“Because… putting a limit of time was never enough with you,” Robert said. “One night wasn’t, one month wasn’t, a year wasn’t, because I always need more. I’m greedy that way. Always want that little bit extra, and you are more. Especially because you don’t ever see it. I’m never bored with you, you always… God, I can’t even describe it.” But he seemed to have done a good job, because Aaron was grinning. He rested his head on Robert’s chest for a moment, needing to feel him close before pulling back.

“But why cash out of the scrap yard?” Aaron asked. “What was the point?”

“I bought into that when I was trying to manipulate you,” Robert said honestly. “I don’t want that for us any more. That business is yours, I don’t want to have my influence on every aspect of your life. It felt right. And Adam agreed.”

“He claimed not to know about it.”

“Well, I did kind of say I wanted to be the one to tell you,” Robert said. “I was looking for a good moment.”

“But you gave us ten grand,” Aaron said. “You’d settle for what, half of what you invested?”

“I’d have settled for a lot less,” Robert said. “Adam was being stubborn.”

“Doesn’t sound like him,” Aaron said.

“Didn’t want Vic to hear he was ripping me off, I expect,” Robert said. “Plus most of the village are waiting for me to revert to a demon again.”

“I'm not.”

“I know,” Robert said.

“I didn’t understand how I could love you,” Aaron started, making Robert frown. “How I could love someone so… spiteful and hurtful. But I guess… deep down… very, _very_ deep down there was always someone decent hiding underneath.”

“Yes,” Robert said. “And you were the only one who ever knew it was there. You gave me a chance, Aaron.” Robert's hand moved to cradle his face gently.

“Even when you didn’t deserve it,” Aaron said. He moved forward and kissed him gently.

“Are you done fighting?!” came Liv’s shout through the closed door.

“Yeah,” Aaron said, kissing him again as Liv came in. She scowled at them both. 

“One of these days, you two are going to have to tell me how you actually got together in the first place,” she said. “Sounds like a story.”

“You were listening at the door?” Robert asked.

“Of course I was,” she said.

“I think the fact that I was the prime suspect for Robert’s attempted murder lets you know that we didn’t start off well,” Aaron said. Liv rolled her eyes.

“What’re you going to do with five grand by the way?” Aaron asked as Liv picked up her paintbrush again.

“We haven’t paid for our honeymoon yet,” Robert said. “I think that’s the first thing to spend it on.” Aaron smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I'm robronalways on tumblr if you want to find me.


End file.
